The present invention relates generally to lever or beam type adaptors for use with load hoisting equipment, and more particularly to an improved lever type hoisting adaptor for handling elongate external stores for an aircraft.
The ground handling of stores preparatory to installation onto an aircraft is often complicated by the unwieldiness and the weight, bulk and shape of the stores. The lugs or lifting brackets provided on these stores, by design or otherwise, are often not disposed conveniently with respect to the center of gravity of the stores to facilitate lifting and moving thereof. Since these stores may weigh upwards of several hundred pounds, a substantial safety hazard is presented in attempting to handle the stores in an unbalanced configuration.
The present invention alleviates or substantially reduces in critical importance the problem of balanced ground handling of stores for aircraft. Specifically, the present invention provides a reliable, low cost lifting adaptor in the form of an elongate beam or lever for use in handling cigar shaped devices for aircraft such as the ECM pods. The adaptor includes a clevis fitting at one end for engagement with a hoist line, a narrow tongue at the other end for insertion into one lifting bracket on the pod, and a clevis and hook intermediate the two ends for engagement with the other lifting bracket on the pod. The adaptor is sized so that the hoist line lifts the pod along a vertical line passing through or very near the center of gravity of the load, so that the pod may be lifted in a balanced configuration.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved lever type adaptor for hoisting heavy loads.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a lever type hoisting adaptor for use in handling elongated stores for aircraft.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent as the detailed description of certain representative embodiments thereof proceeds.